Warrior Dash Maryland

What better way to celebrate National Running Day by sharing a race recap for a race I didn't run! Okay, I could wax on poetically about what running means to me and how important it is for my sanity, but this year while running has still be extremely important to me my greatest joys have been watching the hubs tackle his newest addiction.

Yes, I've helped create an addict - a running addict.

Sure enough, I got pregnant and the hubs became addicted to running. The love/hate affair began last summer when he casually mentioned he'd like to run a half marathon and now he's at the point where he's trying to run a race a month. It's fantastic! He's not overly competitive with his times, but rather signing up for a 10k here and there "keeps him honest."

His May race was a bit different and he "ran" Warrior Dash with his brother and a friend. They guys stayed together the entire time, which meant walking up any part of the course that included an incline because my brother-in-law is not a fan of running and especially not a fan of running up hills.

Overall they had a really fun experience, but if you wanted to actually "run" this race you'd be sorely disappointed. It took them almost two hours to complete the 5k distance because there were such long lines at each of the obstacles. They were in the 11:30am wave and from what I heard the wait times got even longer as the day progressed.  We had a friend run in the 9:30am wave and it took him 50 minutes to complete the course, so if you wanted to run more and wait less I'd highly recommend signing up for one of the earliest waves available.

The hubs was also annoyed by the number of selfie-sticks and group photos out on the course. He got the feeling that so many of the participants were "running for Facebook photos" and that caused even more backups along the way. I say that with a massive grain of salt because it is a struggle to get the hubs to stop for a photo even pre- or post-race! The man is just not a fan of being in photos.

The way this particular course was laid out wasn't very spectator friendly. While the dudes ran, us ladies were able to see the start of the race and then the last 3 obstacles. We sat around for 90 minutes and had no idea where the guys were or even what anyone else was doing because the course was closed to spectators. That was a tad bit annoying because I would have liked to have seen more of the course.

The post race beer line moved quickly and the rinse off shower line wasn't terrible. I'm happy the guys were able to rinse off at least before making their way back to our car! We brought chairs, a cooler filled with beer, and snacks to tailgate afterwards and so many people walked by our tailgate and proclaimed, "why didn't we do this?!?!?"  Definitely tailgate, but just make sure you have a designated driver.

Also, bring sunscreen!

Any other obstacle racers out there? What has been your take on these things? I've yet to do one, but I'm thinking a post-baby fun run sounds like a good time.

2014 Richmond Half Marathon Recap

About 16 weeks ago my husband came up to me and said, "don't make a big deal about this, but how long would it take to train for a half marathon?"  My follow-up question was, "can I run a half with you?"  I honestly didn't know if he would prefer to be off on his own or if he would want my company.  He said I could run with him. That's love. 

For a self-identified "non-runner" who prefers running on the treadmill to running outside and doesn't really care for running more than 3 miles, this was kind of a big deal. We quickly settled on the Richmond Half Marathon for his first race. The timing was right on schedule to give him a month to start running and then 12 weeks to train. We loved the experience we had last year at the marathon and we hoped for a mid-November race we wouldn't have too major of weather issues. 

Off he went on his training program that incorporated lots of cross training days and increased his long runs from a base of 3 miles all the way up to 12 miles. Most training plans for a half marathon only have people run 10 miles as their longest run, but the hubs really wanted the peace of mind knowing on race day that the last mile of Richmond is pretty much all down hill and it was only one more mile than his longest run. 

And he logged a lot of 9:30 pace miles over the course of his training program. It actually became bit of an inside joke because it didn't matter if he was doing a 3 mile run or his 12 mile run - the man runs 9:30 miles like clockwork.  

Come race day morning the weather was a chilly 26 degrees at the start of the race. That drop in temperature was a bit of a concern for both of us. The hubs hadn't run in such cold yet and was a bit worried overall. He threw on an extra short-sleeve shirt under his long-sleeve shirt to keep his core warm. I was worried that my lungs would take forever to warm up and I wouldn't be as "chatty" as needed during the race. My goal was to talk to the hubs, especially during the last few miles, to try to keep his mind off the distance. I was also worried that some lingering soreness in my legs would stay frozen solid during the race and I wouldn't warm up. With those fears in mind I tossed on a thick hat, which is not something I normally wear when racing. Then again, I wasn't racing. I was pacing. 

The race was a lot more crowded than I remembered from last year and we actually missed the start of our wave because we were still lined up in a port-a-potty line. We hopped in with the tail end of wave HB, which was the 2:30 pace group. That actually worked out to be brilliant because we started out slow and steady, especially that first very crowded half mile. 

Mile 1:  10:05

Mile 2:   9:32

Mile 3:   9:33

Mile 4:   9:33

Mile 5:   9:28

Mile 6:   9:34

Mile 7:   9:19

Mile 8:   9:50 (we got separated at a water stop)

Mile 9:   9:33

Mile 10: 9:34

Mile 11: 9:36

Mile 12: 8:45

Mile 13: 7:57

Mile .2:  7:28 (probably the best race I've ever had running the tangents and finishing so close to the actual distance!). 

Total Time: 2:03:46 Garmin average: 9:23

Insert crazy high levels of pride here. The race was almost perfect. Seriously, starting a few waves late turned out to be the best thing because that kept both of us from starting out too fast. That's a major issue I have and since I was acting as the pacer for this race that was a really big concern of mine. The course itself was crowded. I kept trying to keep us on the sidelines so we could dart around people to pass as easily as possible. The night before the race the hubs saw on Facebook that one of his former co-workers was running the race and we actually ran into him around mile 7. He had started out too fast, but once we ran into him, we picked him up, and brought him into our little pack. He finished just behind us. The guys joked during the race that I was going to take off on them at some point, but I reminded them that I was there to get them across the finish line. I also knew that at some point the hubs was going to take off. 

Man I was right about that one! He took off at right at the start of mile 12. I actually told him to calm down at one point and to hold it steady on the flat stretches and then increase the pace on the downhills. He loves downhills, especially ones that are really close to the finish line. I told him to keep it together until we got  half a mile out because from there he could run as hard as he wanted to. I think that sub 8 mile summed it up perfectly. 

Post race we hung out with our friend, grabbed beer and hard cider at the Capitol Ale House, relaxed, showered, napped, and then had an amazing night of bourbon at McCormack's Whiskey Grill.  That game plan made sense because this is the same guy who drank a beer flight with lunch at Legend Brewery the day before his race and for his pre-race dinner ate fried chicken and mac n'cheese at the Bellytimber Tavern. The weekend was all about making sure the hubs had an amazing experience because I didn't want this to be his only half marathon.

I wanted this to be his first half marathon. Mission Accomplished. 

7 Years of Wedded Bliss (well, mostly)

August 11, 2007

I don't believe in luck, but I count my blessings that I met my husband. Truth be told the idea of marriage still scares me to this very day and I have difficulty grasping the concept. But, being married to my husband - well that just makes perfect sense.

Marriage, like any other relationship, is constant work. There are easy months and then there are really hard moments that make you question everything in the world all the way to your core. The key is finding balance between the two extremes, unless of course you can find a drama-free life and if that is the case please share your secrets.

Over the past 7 years of marriage the hubs and I have come up with a few observations of our own:

Keep the fights clean. My husband doesn't swear and yet even when I've done my absolute worst he hasn't said anything to me that can't be repeated in a Disney cartoon. That level of decency provides a safety net during disagreements where we can actually discuss our differences without descending in pure madness. Oh trust me, I'm a ginger with a German temper to boot and I can fly off the handle like a psycho, but our fights are clean.

Support each other, don't suffocate each other. For the love of all things please have a few separate hobbies. Do your own thing and enjoy some time apart from each other. Take a few vacations here and there with friends and without your partner. My husband hates running, yet he will show up at a few of my races and be supportive. And I might think his video games are stupid, but I buy him Madden and MLB The Show every time a new version comes out (hey, at least I get brownie points for buying the games!).  It's really nice asking each other "how was your day?" and getting to share stories. That doesn't happen if you spend every second together.

Go to bed angry. Dumbest advice ever is to never go to bed angry. I don't know about you, but I make really bad decisions when I'm angry + tired. This goes back to tip number 1, but sometimes the very best thing is a few hours of sleep (I won't say a decent night of sleep because let's be honest that's not happening if you're ticked off).

Compromise better. We try not to compromise in the traditional sense - instead we rotate who gets to pick what. If we're splitting a dinner and a movie one of us gets to pick dinner and the other the movie. I picked the granite and stove in our kitchen and he got the backsplash, dishwasher,  and microwave. We rotate whose day or month it is based on each other priorities. That way we don't have to settle for some lukewarm, middle ground and instead each of us gets what we really wanted. Again, we struggle with time to time with finding the balance, but overall this works exceptionally well for us.

No one is perfect. I repeat that to myself every time I get angry or upset with my husband. Sometimes I remember the last thing I did that frustrated him just to remind myself that I'm no peach 100% of the time.

Don't compare your behind the scenes with anyone else's filtered life. In today's social media world it's really easy to get caught up in the hoopla of "why doesn't my life look like that?" Everyone's got problems. I repeat, everyone has problems. Think of it this way, that perfect couple you know posts one or two snippets from their life once a day. The rest of the time you have no idea what is going on behind the curtain. That gorgeous flower arrangement, "just because" might look great on Instagram, but you don't see the dirty dishes piled up, the mail collecting, the dried up tissues, and the laundry that still hasn't been put away because it's been concisely cropped out of the frame.

Challenge Each Other. The greatest moments are life are not when you settle for anything. Rather, they are when you challenge each other's every fiber and find your own way. Take advice from others and make it your own. Realize that no other couple has your unique path in life. There is no "one fits all" pill for life's happiness. You've got to fight for happiness all on your own. You might not win the battle each and every day, but think long-term.

I remember vividly when my husband and I were taking pre-marital classes. We were forming our vows and the traditional Catholic vows contain the phrase, "I will obey you." I told my soon-to-be husband I refused to say those words on our wedding day. Even after our deacon joked, "the word obey comes from Latin meaning of 'I listen.'" I told my betrothed I would listen to him, but I would not obey him. I would hear his perspective and I would respect it, but I would not follow it blindly. And that man, who knew my soul said, "we will not follow each other. we will race each other."

That is the path we take in life, never leading, but always sharing. That is why he is my mate in every sense of the word.

Any other tips out there? Please feel free to share them below.

Carolina Honey BBQ Sauce Recipe

It's no surprise that my hubs likes his BBQ. What you may not know is he has 16-20 BBQ recipes that he keeps stored on graph paper that he's constantly tinkering to perfection. The great thing about a BBQ sauce is you have leeway for creative freedom. You want it a little bit hotter? Add more hot sauce. Sweeter, then honey is your best friend. 

However, we're just over two months away from our annual pig roast and the hubs intends to introduce a BBQ wing bar this year. You know because the roasted pig wasn't enough food to feed the 80 or so people that show up every year.  In the mean time, he's letting me share a few of his recipe staples over the next few months. I made a solid case that these recipes needed to be shared and I think he likes having the idea of having them backed up online. Without further ado here's a really simple, yet smooth and tasty Carolina Honey BBQ Sauce Recipe.

Ingredients: 

 - 1 cup Ketchup 

-  1 cup distilled white vinegar

- 1/2 cup molasses 

- 1/2 clover honey

- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (usually found on the top or bottom shelf in the condiment aisle)

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/4 onion powder

- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

- Combine ingredients in a sauce pan. Heat for 10-15 minutes over low heat to thicken sauce. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Then either store it in a sealable jar or use it as a marinade. Seriously, that's it. So yummy. I'm a fan of the sweeter BBQ sauces and this is probably my go-to staple. 

What's your favorite kind of BBQ sauce? I'm trying to get the hubs to share his Old Bay sauce, but he keeps that one pretty close to the vest. Hopefully it'll make an appearance here soon. 

Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce

The secret ingredient in our third annual pig roast: Jack Daniels of course!  

I've made it known that the hubs is a massive fan of Jack Daniels here, here, and here. Plus, who can forget my go-to summer drink concoction - the Jack and Coke slushies.  For those keeping track I made two more batches of slushies during last weekend's pig roast. 

The hubs received such high praise on his BBQ sauces during last year's pig roast that he decided to make even more for this year's roast.  When he was putting together his plan for more sauces he told me that he needed more mason jars for storage. Little did he know I was way ahead of him and I had already come up with a plan for storing all the BBQ sauce he could make. 

While I might not be a fan of single barrel Jack, I do acknowledge that the bottle is gorgeous. Truth be told, I've been hoarding empty Jack Daniels bottles since the hubs and I moved into our house. I was hoping to throw the hubs an enormous Jack Daniels themed party for his 30th birthday this summer and I knew I needed to store bottles in advance.  The hubs threw me for a loop when he didn't want a party, but I wasn't about to let my hoarding go to waste! 

Prior to storing anything in an old Jack Daniels bottle you've got to get the label off (if you're so inclined) and make sure the bottle is squeaky clean.  I've stripped enough labels off of glass bottles in my day to give you this tip - wait until the paper label is COMPLETELY SOAKED prior to even trying to remove it.  The water logged adhesives are much easier to remove and more often than not you can peel off the entire label in one large piece. If you find a lot of additional glue residue on the outside of your bottle after you've gotten the label remove just gently use a steel pad to buff it off. Gently is the key, you don't want to scratch the glass. 

In addition, I bought a baby bottle brush to get the inside of the bottles squeaky clean. Honestly, wish I could have video taped the hubs facial expression when he saw a baby bottle brush on the counter :) Hilarious. 

Now, we used the larger 1.75 Liter bottles for ice tea and the every day 750ml Jack Daniels bottles for BBQ sauces.  Once the bottles were stripped, cleaned, re-cleaned, and dried the hubs filled up each bottle with its BBQ sauce.  A last minute funnel purchase made that process infinitely easier. On the day of the pig roast we pulled the bottles out of the fridge about an hour before the party started in order to apply the labels.  We dried the bottles off and applied these cool chalkboard sticker labels I picked up from Crate and Barrel.  I was beyond excited to find out that these labels are made in the USA.  It also meant I got to break out my chalk board marker, which is always a good time. We didn't apply the labels while the bottles were refrigerated because I wasn't sure if the labels would stick in the fridge. 

We popped in a simple bottle pourer in each bottle and everything worked like a charm. We found extra wide bottle pourers at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and we utilized those for the thicker sauces. 

True story - after the party I told the hubs he had to start drinking more Gentlemen Jack and Single Barrel because those bottles were my absolute favorite!  The other 750ml bottles were Tennessee Honey Jack and green label.  It's more "cost effective" for the hubs to buy his standard Black Label Jack in the larger sizes :)

The finished product! 

I know this might seem sort of silly to go over, but I'm a firm believer that presentation matters. I can't even count how many people told me at the pig roast that this was the coolest idea they'd ever seen for holding BBQ sauce. It's so simple and that's the beauty of it! 

The very first photo shows what is left of our Honey BBQ supply. It also shows how well the chalkboard label held up after getting tossed around during the pig roast.  The chalkboard marker needs to get damp first in order to wipe off so it held up a lot better than plain old chalk. 

As for next year's pig roast - expect even more BBQ sauces and more quantities. The hubs had four additional sauces in smaller mason jars because he thought those particular sauces were not standard fare and didn't expect people to use them.  BIG mistake! The extra smokey sauce received the second most requests for the recipe. The only one asked about more was the Bay BBQ sauce, which is an Old Bay infused sauce. 

Oh, and there may or may not have been a splash of Jack Daniels in a few of those BBQ sauces.  His whiskey sauce recipe, which oddly enough the final product is not pictures, indicates, "add Jack to taste."  I once again had to remind him that his Jack Daniels taste threshold might differ from others. 

Everlasting Love

Back when I shared a few OBX vacation photos I didn't include the one above.  It's weird, when I first took it I thought almost nothing of it because I didn't even know those people. Just some random people I saw on the beach (no, I'm not a creeper).  I just thought they were adorable because they were all by themselves on the beach and having a good time. 

The sappy romantic in me thought - there's hope for us!

Total confession, but I find it to be absolutely adorable when elderly couples are affectionate with each other.  That old "A Diamond is Forever" commercial with the elderly couple holding hands while walking in the park ... gets me every time. 

Off to celebrate six years of wedded bliss with the hubs this weekend.  Potentially trying to recreate one of our favorite wedding photos. I'm really hoping that weight/wrinkles we've gained over the past six years isn't too apparent. I looked at a few wedding photos the other day and thought, "man I wish my arms still looked that good!" 

The hubs is like George Clooney; he gets better with age! 

Have a great weekend everyone. 

Sweet and Tangy BBQ Sauce

Not going to lie, but eating out sounds incredibly tempting during the summer months. I'm more inclined to stop and pick up food, order in, or just go out when it feels like it's 800 degrees outside. The thought of turning on my oven, even in a centrally-cooled house, makes me get hot flashes. 

Thankfully, the hubs loves to grill.  Actually that's bit of an understatement. The man's life wouldn't be complete without his grill.  I wanted to get him a monster sized grill for his 30th birthday earlier this month, but he objected because he's still head over heels crazy about his Weber grill he got for his birthday a few years ago.  Instead he got every grilling accessory known to man. 

I have zero complaints about the hubs and his grilling obsessions. Why? Because it's awesome during the summer to let the hubs do his thing with the grill and keep the house oven free. 

We're just a few weeks away from our third annual pig roast, which means the hubs is working on perfecting his BBQ sauces. Here's a quick and simple sauce that uses your basic pantry ingredients (as long as liquid smoke is a basic necessity in your house like it is in mine!) and can be stored in a mason jar if you make it a week in advance. 

Ingredients: yielded enough to smother 2.5 lbs of boneless chicken thighs and a small steak 

•  1 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 molasses
• 2 Tbs Cider Vinegar
• 3 Tbs Honey
• 1 1/2 tsp hot sauce 
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat for 10-15 minutes over low heat. Stir occasional.
2. Remove from heat. 
3. Let cool.
4. Use it

Seriously this sauce is that simple! The hubs made this sauce last week for steak and kept the rest in a mason jar in our fridge. Monday night he prepped the chicken and it marinated for 24 hours before cooking. 

The hubs was more than happy to try making baked beans on the grill using his new Lodge cast iron melting pot.  I'm happy I got him two for his birthday. Just make sure you don't pick one up first in store and try to carry it around for an hour. Those things might be small, but they're heavy! 

In case you were wondering - the hubs is a charcoal man and has pledged his allegiance to it for the foreseeable future. 

What's your favorite BBQ sauce? I'm a big fan of the sweet and tangy varieties.  The hubs likes his North Carolina (vinegar based) sauces for pork, but I'm more of a chicken fan and I think the sweet sauces go better with chicken.  The hubs is working on finalizing his BBQ sauces for our pig roast and he's tinkering with an Old Bay sauce and a sauce that uses "a lot" of liquid smoke. I imagine that means I'm going to be eating a lot of BBQ in the coming weeks and I'm okay with it! 

Sights from OBX

Just a quick photo dump of an incredibly relaxing trip the hubs and I took to the Outer Banks two weeks ago.  We rented a tiny cabin by the beach (no wifi!) and just enjoyed some much needed rest and relaxation with the dogs.  Crazy thing, I didn't take a single picture of the pups by the ocean because I never even brought my camera to the beach when I had the dogs!  

Totally crazy thing happened at the beach - Jewels ran right into the ocean. And, then promptly out :) 

Guess who got ZERO sunburn while on vacation?!?!?! That's right - the palest kid in the room. 

This was the first, but certainly not the last time, we've been to the outer banks.  I could hang out in the those Adirondack chairs every evening and be blissfully happy.

Just a boy and his dog

Over the weekend the hubs and I took Jax for a two-hour walk around the park.  We went ahead and bought a season pass to all of our county's main parks because we anticipate we'll be at a park almost every weekend this year. 

The weather was an unseasonable warm 55 degrees, but the water was cold enough that Jax only got his paws wet and then he was done with the bay.  Funny story, even though he's 7 years old, this was the first time Jax has ever been down to the bay (or to the beach).  He's been out in lake by my parents house, but this was a bit different.  Come summer time we won't be able to keep him out of the water! 

I don't know who was more excited to get out and walk around: Jax or the hubs.  The hubs hasn't been cleared for running yet, so walking is his main form of physical activity at the moment.  

For the record: I held Jax's leash for most of the walk.  It's just safer that way.  Also, even though it was 55 degrees out we left Jewels at home.  Anything under 60 and it might as well be snowing out in her book.  Plus, one pup is enough for two people at the park!

Anyone else get out and enjoy the weather this weekend before the cold air came in? It was crazy how warm it was on Saturday and then by Sunday afternoon you could just feel the chill descending in the air.  Beyonce would have been able to sing live at the inauguration if it was in the 50s! 

Through Sickness and In Health

The hubs and I have been blessed, for the most part, with solid health.  We eat fairly healthy, exercise like crazy, and wear sunscreen like it's our day jobs.  In the eleven years that we've known each other I think the biggest health scare for him was an emergency root canal and for me it was a nasty bout of mono.  Both of those incidents happened in college and since then we've been very lucky with our health.  We're eternally grateful for our health because we know not everyone is as lucky and we know that something could happen at any moment to change things.

The hubs was plagued with a sore shoulder for most of the summer.  Granted, it was because he was still pitching on his baseball team even though we both decided that he shouldn't pitch because his arm just couldn't handle the wear and tear anymore.  Seriously dude, the time of your life when you were named among Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects is in the past.  Getting older sucks, but it's a part of life.

He did what 99% of guys do - he kept pitching through the pain.  I wish I could say I didn't understand the mentality of guys when they do things like that, but I'd be completely lying because I'm the same way.  We both figured that his arm would hurt less after the season ended and whatever was ailing him would heal itself.

Well, it didn't.  The hubs is normally the star player on our recreational dodgeball team, but he had to take himself off the team after one game.  The pain was unbearable and finally the hubs went to a orthopedic surgeon to get checked out.

Initially he was diagnosed with severe tendonitis and put on a motrin diet for three weeks.  The tendons in his shoulder were so swollen that his Xray results were inconclusive and worse his should was being pushed slightly out of the socket due to the intense swelling.  No wonder his arm hurt!

Three weeks later he went in for his checkup and was told that the swelling had come down slightly, but it still wasn't down enough to see if anything was torn.  Next up was a cortisone injection and three more weeks of stretching and playing the waiting game.

Finally, the swelling had subsided to a point where an MRI could be done.

On Thursday the hubs had his follow-up appoint with his doctor to go over the MRI.  In the word's of a health care professional the hubs is, "an idiot."  He should have never continued to throw this summer.

He tore his rotator cuff.  No wait, he put a 2.5 cm tear in his rotator cuff and tore through 60% of it.

He tore his labium, which is a tendon in his shoulder.

He has a benign cyst on his shoulder bone that means his doctor will have to use more anchor screws to secure his tendons.

Not only did the hubs do serious damage to his arm, his doctor told him that it was the easiest diagnosis of the day, "In order to regain full function of your arm you need to have surgery."

When I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis I thought to myself, "okay, this sucks, but if it only hurts when I'm running I can give up running and live a happy life."  The hubs isn't just having surgery so he can continue to throw a baseball, he's having surgery so he can regain function of his arm.

That phrase scared the living daylights out of me.

"In order to regain full function of your arm you need to have surgery."

As in without surgery the hubs will continue to experience pain anytime he lifts his arm over his head or rotates his arm.  That means he won't be able to climb a ladder, swing an axe, use a sledgehammer, put a kid on his shoulders, play fetch with our dogs, etc.

That is not happy life for him.  At some point I think the hubs would understand and eventually be okay with not being able to play baseball again, but he'd never be okay with giving up everything else.

I'm totally willing to give up my dreams of recreating the lift scene from Dirty Dancing, but I am not giving up the daily joy that is having the hubs toss things around.  We like to play catch outside when we BBQ or even if the weather is just nice.

Thankfully the surgery that will repair his arm has a 90% success rate.

The downside is it is going to be 6-7 months before the hubs is even allowed to touch a ball (baseball, football, tennis ball, basketball, etc.).  We're also looking at 1-2 weeks where his arm has to be completely immobilized immediately following his surgery.

At this moment in time all marathon training and major home renovations are put on hold.  I can't train for a long distance race because when I'm in training mode the hubs does everything around the house. He walks the dogs, he cooks dinner, and generally keeps our house from looking like it was tossed by a police unit. Those are things he does with his right arm.  He can't walk both dogs without using his right arm.  He won't be able to vacuum the upper trim in our house or the tops of the ceiling fans because he has to have his arm over his head to do so.

We had really hoped to begin our kitchen renovation in the early spring, but we're not doing that until the hubs can take the ceremonial first swing at the cabinets and walls with a sledgehammer.

So we're in a little weird place where things are put on hold.  It's okay, we've got nothing but time and his health and well-being are the most important things in the world.  We've got this.

Anyone have any tips they want to share for recovering from surgery? We're already been told that the hubs should drink lots of water in the days leading up to his surgery to make it easier to put in an IV.

NFL Thursday Night Date Night

Thursday Night Date Night is a well-respected event in our house and I'm sad to say that it's going to go on hiatus for a few weeks until dodgeball season is done. Yeah, I play dodgeball and it's awesome!  However, last week the hubs and I headed over to M & T Bank Stadium for a low-key date night with 70,942 other people.

Story of that guy's life - waiting on me while I take a picture.  Thank goodness that man is the most patient person in the world.

Cheers! Too bad the beer cans aren't as big as the one's they serve across the street at Camden Yards.

 Purple fire works - don't mind if I do! 

It was a great night, even though it rained.  It was a bit warm for the end of summer, but thankfully 75 degrees and rainy is actually nice.  If it was even a few degrees colder or if the rain came down a bit harder then it would have been ugly.

Now if only someone would actually use the hood part of his rain coat he'd probably stay a bit dryer.  He's a weird one that amazing husband of mine.

Date Night at an NFL football game might not be for everyone, but it's right up our alley and we'll take it any day of the week.

Look, my hubs is a man's man. He plays sports, drinks whiskey, eats far too much red meat, smokes the occasional cigar, is friend's with a professional MMA fighter, drools over fast cars, etc. But he's also the kind of guy who will wrap up his wifey in a big kiss in the middle of a tailgate party and give cheers to Thursday Night Date Night.

I'm going to miss Thursday Night Date Night.  Although once Marine Corps is done at the end of October we can be a bit flexible and rotate date night onto any day of the week! That'll be pretty awesome. Five years of marital bliss in and we'll never stop going out on dates.